Otezla® (apremilast) is approved for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. Please click here for more information.

2014 Innovation Award WinnersNAMCP, AAMCN and AAIHDS are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual Innovation Awards, which recognize a company or organization that is improving outcomes, costs or quality using an innovative method in the workplace. The award winners are as follows:

Could the key to a good memory be found in our genes?Medical News TodayForgetting the name of a recent acquaintance or where you put your keys are common memory slips that most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. But for those individuals in middle and later life, such lapses can be troubling — potentially heralding conditions such as Alzheimer's. Now, a new study has identified specific genes that are linked to poorer memory later in life.

'Screen more' for cancer risk genesBBCMore people in high risk groups should have their DNA tested for breast cancer risk genes, a cancer charity says.
Mutations in BRCA genes can give women up to an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer. A trial involving 1,034 Ashkenazi Jews, who are at high risk, suggested more than half of their cases were not being picked up under the current NHS guidelines.

Genes and environment: Complex interactions at the heart of personalized medicineMedical XpressPersonalized medicine uses methods of molecular analysis, especially genetic sequencing and transcription, in order to simultaneously identify genetic mutations to evaluate each individual's risk of contracting a given disease. It seems that there is more than a single mechanism at hand, as proven by the work of a team of geneticists at the University of Geneva's Faculty of Medicine, and the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics.

Measure, Monitor Immunoglobulin Treatment OutcomesBioFeedback for immunoglobulin is a health outcomes reporting program that provides clinical feedback on the use of immunoglobulin in autoimmune-related disorders. Physicians and medical directors can now deploy clinical interventions when they have the greatest impact on healthcare quality and costs.

Who are the stars of personalized meds? Roche, Novartis and J&JFiercePharmaTargeted drugs, personalized medicine, stratified therapy — whatever you call it, using biomarkers to identify particular patients for particular drugs has been hailed as a boon for patients and a savvy strategy for pharma.
Advocates can talk up approval numbers, labeling changes and Phase III therapies. But it's according to the 80/20 rule: A small number of pharma companies account for the lion's share of targeted meds.

Stem cell advocacy and the patient's perspectiveForbesYou don’t often hear of books dedicated to patient advocacy in the stem cell field. But "Inevitable Collision," by Tory Williams, may inspire more.
Williams, at one time a school teacher, single mother and aspiring novelist, has pledged to donate all the proceeds of her book, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., to fund the Alabama Institute of Medicine, which she and stem cell advocate Roman Reed helped to establish, to help raise funds for stem cell research in her home state.

Not all induced pluripotent stem cells are made equalPhys.orgScientists at McMaster University have discovered that human stem cells made from adult donor cells "remember" where they came from and that's what they prefer to become again. This means the type of cell obtained from an individual patient to make pluripotent stem cells, determines what can be best done with them. For example, to repair the lung of a patient with lung disease, it is best to start off with a lung cell to make the therapeutic stem cells to treat the disease, or a breast cell for the regeneration of tissue for breast cancer patients.

Cancer uses abdominal stem cells to fuel growth, metastasisR&D MagazineNew research from Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows how ovarian tumors co-opt a specific type of adult stem cell from abdominal tissues to fuel their growth. The research, published online in Cancer Research, suggests a new way to target aggressive ovarian cancers by disrupting the metabolic processes that allow them to thrive.

InSightec - World Leader in MRgFUSMRgFUS is being used in clinics across America to treat uterine fibroids and pain palliation for metastatic bone tumors. It’s a completely non-invasive procedure performed on an outpatient basis where patients report an improvement in QoL within days, not weeks. Discover InSightec now.

EMERGING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Top 10 technology hazards for 2015Health Data MangementPatient safety organization ECRI Institute has released its annual report examining the biggest technology hazards faced by healthcare providers — and their patients. The top 10 list for 2015 includes four holdovers from 2014 that remain serious threats, and six other hazards that now warrant inclusion. The holdovers are alarms, data integrity, inadequate reprocessing of instruments and robotic surgery.

The long road to health information exchangeBy Christina Thielst Health information exchange is turning out to be one of those really long journeys in which you hear the kids in the back seat asking, "Are we there yet?" while the driver keeps saying, "Almost." The Office of the National Coordinator is focusing on the next 10 years with its soon-to-be-released road map to reach interoperability. As we await the March 2015 release, it is a good time to reflect on the 10 years since I pulled onto the HIE highway and share a few thoughts on the future.

Going mobile: Providers deploy apps and devices to engage patients and cut costsModern HealthcareNurse Anita McCole loves Bluetooth-enabled scales for monitoring patients' weights at home. The devices wirelessly transmit the weights of congestive heart-failure patients to a mobile receiver or smartphone, which sends the daily readings to McCole, a case manager at Geisinger Health Plan, Danville, Pennsylvania. The computerized system, made by AMC Health, automates what once was a less reliable, labor-intensive process of getting heart-failure patients to track and report their weights.

Should the FDA force drug makers to discuss their clinical trials?ForbesWhen developing a new drug, biopharmaceutical companies design clinical trials which, if successful, will garner approval from the FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world. Late stage clinical trials are time consuming and costly, with expenses running into tens, even hundreds, of millions of dollars.

FDA weighs lifting ban on blood donations from gay menThe HillAdvisers for the Food and Drug Administration will meet next week to decide whether gay men should be allowed to donate blood, the agency’s biggest step yet toward changing the 30-year-old prohibition.
If the FDA accepts the recommendation from its advisory board, it would roll back a policy that has faced mounting criticism from LGBT advocates and some members of Congress for more than four years.

CMS targets increased health IT use for shared savings ACOsEHR IntelligenceThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to increase health IT use among accountable care organizations as part of its proposed changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The forms of health IT cited are certified EHRs, health information exchanges and telehealth.

Healthcare.gov's insurance marketplace for small businesses gets off to a slow startThe Washington PostA year after the Obama administration temporarily shelved an unfinished part of Healthcare.gov intended for small businesses, it has opened with reports of only modest technical flaws — but with doubts that it will soon benefit the millions of workers at little companies with inadequate health insurance or none at all.

FAST FACTS"The largest waterborne disease outbreak in United States history occurred in 1993 in Milwaukee when over 400,000 people became ill with diarrhea when the parasite Cryptosporidium was found in the city's drinking water supply."

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